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Date: Nov 26 1999 18:01:17 EST
From: "Apolyton Announcements (Apolyton Civilization Site)"
Subject: Apolyton&Friends News 20-25/November/99


Greetings everyone,
these are the news of the week(20-25/November)

On Apolyton, the news in headlines are: new civ2 files, new demo of Clash
of Civilizations, great new version of MapUtility(now supporting ctp maps
too), guide and review for SMAC-X, new tournament in GameLeague, November
Fleece Award, and news on the 3rd SDC. Enough for you? :)

In the "Friends" part of the newsletter, news from MJ's Civilization
Empire. If you have a civ2, ctp or smac site and want your news included
here, mail Dustin Dunn at dustind@home.com


And now, in detail
=========The news from Apolyton=========
----------------------------
**Civilization II Section

THE WORK NEVER ENDS II
(November 24, 1999) Yet another banch of civ2 files reviewed by Sven have
been added on files database. These are Modpacks: 2nd Punic War, Allied
Force and World War II - Europe. Maps: Black Sea, In-perspective Europe,
Europe 3, The Big Plains and Centaurus. The The Guns of the South
scenario, the Highways and Electrical Railroads patch and probably most
important of all, MapUtility v1.1, a map converter which supports civ2,
smac, and ctp maps!
Other than that, we are(as almost always) looking for database helpers.
See our announcement for staff openings.

THE COLUMN: #79 HOW CIV NEARLY TOOK OVER MY LIFE AND DESTROYED MY MORALS
Alexander's Horse does not want anyone to lose sight of what is important.

SUBMIT AN ARTICLE

----------------------------
**Alternative Civilizations Section

CLASH DEMO v3 HAS ARRIVED
(Nov. 20) This past week has seen some exciting developments in The Clash
of Civilizations, a game that will "sketch out pretty much the whole of
history in game form", as the official website reads. A week ago demo 3 of
Clash for Windows was released, followed by the Mac version a few days
later. You'll want to read the instructions on how to play as well.
Project Lead Mark Everson is impressed with how things have been
progressing in recent weeks and, if all goes according to plan, Clash
could go into early Alpha sometime early in the New Year with, quote, "a
lot of final functionality". He further emphasises what the Clash project
is all about.
"Our main goals are for less required micromanagement, and a greater AI,
much better than that in the commercial games. The two goals really go
together, since the player can't reduce micromanagement by delegating
parts of their game to the AI until they can trust the AI not to bungle
it!"
There have been some noticeable staff changes within the Clash team that
they are worth noting. Paul Crocker is now spreadheading Map Graphics, and
Lord God Jinnai has taken on the responsibility of working on the
product's Technology Model. Hrafnkell, who was previously in charge of the
Government & Tech models, refocuses his responsibilities and is now soley
in charge of the Government Model. Kull, in addition to being in charge of
Diplomacy, is also Web Editor, effective immediately, breaking up the
workload of present Clash webmaster Dominic in areas such as cleaing up
wording in submitted HTML information. A full listing of Clash personell
is available for viewing here.
The final product is to be released as shareware. Everson has stated that
it is still too early to anticipate when the game will be complete. In the
meantime, the Clash team is welcoming any and all input into their efforts
through their forum, hosted here on Apolyton, and are still looking for
people to assistant in a number of disciplines.

MAP UTILITY!
(November 24) As there are few ctp maps, MapUtility comes to save the day.
Simply said, it can load and save a map in the following formats: CivII,
Alpha Centauri, RRT II and C:CTP. It can also load greyscale or
green/yellow/brown bitmap in .pcx format. The ctp conversion part is not
the most easy to be(like in the civ2 or smac cases), but the important
thing is that it works! A definite download for all creators!

BETTER IMPRESSIONS
(November 22) Our 12th poll on patch 1.2 is finally over(it was about time
we close it, dont you think? :)). The results are better than the ones
about the first patch. Here's a comparison
First Patch--Second Patch
Awesome - The game is perfect now 33/3% -- 81/7%
Great - But there is still room for improvement 385/39% -- 555/52%
Good - But they didn't fix what I wanted fixed 292/30% -- 233/21%
Ok - But I could live without it 66/6% -- 52/4%
Disappointed - It is worse now than before 102/10% -- 61/5%
None - I have a localized/linux version 85/8% -- 80/7%
In our new poll, we ask you what you would like to see most in an improved
ctp, whether that is through a patch, an expansion pack or a future
version. You can give your comments about the poll in the forums. Thanks
to Monkey for the idea.


----------------------------
**Alpha Centauri Section

Holiday Best Buy From GameCenter
--November 23 1999-- GameCenter has named Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri one
of their "Holiday Best Buys" in their similarly titled feature posted this
week.
"The strategy and depth this game displays are second to none and will
turn hours into minutes as you tell yourself, "just one more turn, just
one more turn".
Many will agree it is one of a rare breed of games that earns itself a
permanent residence on your hard drive and computer shelf.

CCC Strategy Guide
--November 23 1999-- Cheat Code Central has posted an extensive SMAC
strategy guide by Jim Chamberlin on their website. It takes you through
all aspects of the game, in detail, from the Factions to the Hot Keys!
Jim, if you're reading this, what are the chances for a similar document
on SMAC-X (Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire)?

GameWire Revisits Planet In SMAC-X
--November 22 1999-- Aerogear of GameWire revisits Planet in their review
of SMAC-X, more commonly referred to as Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire. It is
the most screenshots intensive known to date, with more than 20 in total.
As an apparent offset, the areas that the review touches upon are a
paragraph at best. Needless to say there is no beating around the bush,
which carries its own pros and cons. Nonetheless, an impressive showing
for the much accredited expansion pack! Below is just some of what GW has
to say:
GRAPHICS (7.0): "Alien Crossfire still suffers as did Alpha Centauri in
the graphics interface of the game. It is still confusing as ever to build
units and buildings. The spectacular cut scenes are a plus, but that's
pretty much it".
SOUND (9.0): "The game music was my favorite element of sound, as it
calmed my nerves whenever I couldn't find a way to transport land units
from the sea to the land. The sound in the cut scenes was also great, as
you can hear the sounds of anything displayed in the cut scene".
INNOVATION (7.0): "Not a real strongpoint of the game, but not a bad one
either. I still felt that there was too much in common with this game and
Alpha Centauri".
GAMEPLAY (7.0): "This was the part I absolutely LOVED. Although there is
no 200+ page manual like in Alpha Centauri, Alien Crossfire should be easy
to get into, since it uses the same controls as in Alpha Centauri".
Conclusion? "The game is incredibly fun to play and is worth every penny
of what I paid for it. But if you haven't touched your Alpha Centauri disc
in about 6 months, then this game probably isn't for you" -- (8.13).

[Nov.25] Silver Fleece Medal for November announced

[Nov.21] Al-Andalus has been updated (version 2.1)

[Nov.20] New entry for the Hall of Fame (Cuba #1)


----------------------------
**GameLeague(hosted site)

Addendums to RDP 11.25
Addendum 1 to the RDP (see Nov. 22 article): Regarding long games that
have to be resumed, if a player fails to show up to a scheduled resume
appointment he/she should be treated as if he had gotten disconnected.
Therefore, the RDP would apply.
Addendum 2: If all players agree before the game, they may choose to treat
disconnected players differently than the RDP. However, if no mention is
made about how to treat disconnected players beforehand or no agreement is
reached, the RDP is considered to be used.
Addendum 3: The RDP policy applies only to games started after November
22, or on November 23 and later. All times are in GL Time.

Last Chance to be Thankful 11.22
Tomorrow will be the last day to signup for the "Thanks for Nothing"
tourney. If you haven't read the rules yet check them out on the tourneys
page. Again, tomorrow is your last chance.

Disconnect Policy 11.22
Recent reports that we have received regarding disputed wins have prompted
us to enact the following policy:
It is strongly recommended that all players agree to what to do if a
player is disconnected from the game before the game begins. We offer the
following "Recommended Disconnect Policy" (RDP):
If a player is disconnected, all play is stopped. AI is NOT to take
his/her place. An attempt must be made to contact the disconnected player
as soon as possible (preferably using the GameLeague notes system). If the
disconnected player responds, all players will attempt to find a suitable
time to resume the game. If there is no response from the disconnected
player within 36 hours of the attempt to contact, the disconnected player
is considered to have had his civilization/faction destroyed.
All games started after November 22, 1999 that have not agreed to what
to do with a disconnect is considered to be following the RDP.

Dream Team Tourney 11.20
This new Civ2 tourney is part of a joint effort with GameLeague and many
other sites in the Civ Community. The top two players from this tourney as
we;ll as two players selected in an election on the forums will compete in
a "Dream Team Game" which will be similar to a televised sports game. All
negotiations, along with many screen shots, will be posted on the forums.
The idea is to determine the best Civ2 world and to let the world watch.
Since the purpose of this tourney is to find the best player in the world
please make sure to tell all of your friends. More information on this
tourney can be found on the tourneys page. Look for more information on
other Apolyton sites soon.


----------------------------
**Scenario League(hosted site)

Contest #3 News
[November 24, 1999] So you've been wondering what contest #3 will be
about, eh? Well, you will still need to wait a bit longer, but at least
you can preview the six possible topics. People who submitted entries to
one of the previous contests have been asked to vote for their favorite
topic from among the following six:
Dracula!
Mystery of Easter Island
The Raj (British in India)
The Low Imperialism (SE Asia and Europe)
After the French & Indian War: Alternate History
The Argonauts/Bronze-Age Fantasy
The decision is set to be announced during the first week of December -
and there will be two contests, one for Test of Time and one for FW/MGE.
You may enter either or both.

New Reviews Editor Hired!
[November 24, 1999] Thanks to William Keenan, who has just joined our team
as Reviews Editor. The first fruits of his labor are already appearing.
He's a well-known "face" here at the SLeague and a frequent contributor.
He says that, in case we are interested in what he looks like, his picture
is on the "members" button :-).

[November 24, 1999] New round of scenarios up for review.

New Review: Cromwell [Historical, 15/30]

New Design Tip: Details in Scenarios [Introductory Tip]


=========Apolyton's Friends News=========
--------------------------
MJ's Civilization Empire

11/24/1999
SMACX2 Factions revealed, TLC and the Aristocracy, in the SMAC2 section.


That was all for this week ladies and gentlemen,

Until next time
Markos Giannopoulos - markg@apolyton.net
Apolyton Civilization Site -